The nine-year NFL veteran has made a career out of being a solid pro, but what will his role be in Kansas City?
This past Saturday the Kansas City Chiefs and free-agent center Daniel Kilgore came to an agreement to bring Kilgore to Kansas City for the 2020 NFL season. The nine-year NFL veteran started his career in 2011 playing for the San Francisco 49ers and played for them until 2018 when he joined the Miami Dolphins, where he spent the majority of his time starting at Center.
Some of the strengths that Kilgore possesses are his athletic ability, as well as his ability to move in space, but he also has the ability to snap and pull at the same time which is a very valuable trait for centers to have based on how difficult it is.
Only listed at 6-foot-3, 290 pounds Kilgore is undersized by NFL standards, but he makes up for it with above-average speed for his position as well as being good at making blocks in space. This is a trait that likely attracted Andy Reid, who we have seen likes to utilize the screen game in his offense which calls for more mobility gifted linemen.
Other strong aspects of Kilgore’s game are his great body positioning and the fact that he is able to help his guards as well as the rest of his offensive line when need be. He is a high effort player and goes until the whistle every play.
It is easy to tell that Kilgore has a very high football IQ, not just because he plays center, but just because his body position and eyes are always where they need to be. If he can’t execute a block it is because of a physical limitation, not because of a mental lack – his mental processing is very sharp.
Once more in the clip below, we can see him maintain a good posture and base before he has to come help pass off the defensive lines twist game.
He will never overpower anyone or be a grinder in the run game, but he has shown he can hold his own, and he does his best when he is blocking zone or stretch plays where he can use his mobility to make reach blocks on slower and larger defensive tackles.
Kilgore has a very good amount of NFL experience under his belt and if he manages to crack the active 53 man roster he should be a backup to current starter Austin Reiter.
He isn’t here to push Reiter out of a job, and overall Reiter is a better player, but his presence on the bench will provide more interior depth for the Chiefs as they get suited up for a year where depth will play a huge factor in how far the NFL’s elite teams make it in 2020.
